The environment of a job can play a big role in how a person reacts and feels when situations happen. Many workspaces bring negative energy or fear. With this, people don’t know how to navigate when there is a positive setting. With active listening and respect, we may see better management of conflict and more people happy in the workplace.
Recently, I had a situation at work with another staff member that was a result of a lapse in communication. I work with kids on the autism spectrum, so anytime there is miscommunication between adults this is to be addressed to prevent a breach in safety for the children. After the event, I realized this was a newer staff member who may not have understood my directive. I approached the clarification conversation very quickly and in a non-threatening manner away from the ears of others.
As the day moved along, I noticed this person who is very talkative became quiet. This person had a few past moments with others at work that did not go so well because they took it personally rather than it being a professional discussion. The next morning, this person came up to me to explain themselves once again. I then explained that after the many years I’ve been working there, I still did not know everything. With this series of events, I wondered why it is that we as people are afraid or get defensive in situations such as this in a professional setting.
When we are toddlers, we learn about right and wrong and go through many moments before learning the rules of life. Everyone is usually your friend and any anger when fighting over toys goes away quickly. Now, when we get older, you would think we would be more regulated to handle these scenarios.
Active listening is a great way to reduce conflict by listening and observing before responding. Looking at the body language, emotional tone, and eye contact are greats ways to start. Then, there is the idea of listening and paraphrasing or summarizing the details heard for the person speakeing to hear. These components give the listener a better idea of the intention of the speaker before responding. Next is respect. Respect for others is the idea of treating people as you want to be treated. When this energy is mutual then you will feel comfortable speaking and have respectful conversations even when there is a difference in opinion. The role we all play is the make sure the work environment flows without toxicity, but it starts from the top.